I will never forget several years ago when I drove past the lagoon shown in the picture above. In disbelief, I saw two trespassers fishing in what was essentially a waste treatment plant! I am confident that if they caught a fish, it didn’t take them long to figure out that it smelled terrible for a reason.

In The Pit?

I will never forget several years ago when I drove past the lagoon shown in this picture. In disbelief, I saw two trespassers fishing in what was essentially a waste treatment plant! I am confident that if they caught a fish, it didn’t take them long to figure out that it smelled terrible for a reason.

Whether you call it the “pit”, the “wilderness”, the “desert”, the “swamp” or the “lagoon” – we have all been there. There is a high probability you might even be there at this moment, but let me assure you that you are not alone. We’ve all been there in some aspects of our lives not readily seen by others and only known to us.

Some “pit” experiences can be traced to money, relationships, health, addiction, loss of hope or faith, loss of purpose, or the need to control. I’m sure there may be other reasons, but these are enough.

But unfortunately, bad things can still happen to good people. We have all seen examples of this. Faith and acts of kindness don’t prevent us from having difficulties in life. Everyone experiences challenges, and while some of our challenges are created by our poor decisions, others can happen without explanation.

We need to remind ourselves that even when success seems impossible, we can succeed if we keep the faith, take action and persevere. We must keep in mind that many of the best things in life are not cheap and don’t happen quickly. If you say negative words like “I’ll never,” “I can’t,” “I’m not going to,” or “It’s not possible,” then you will never experience success.

We must remember there are always positives when we are in the “pit” experiencing adversity in life. I often say, “If I am still breathing, there is hope, and God must not be through with me yet.”

I confess that I begin each day with positive and spiritual information to increase my chances of not being overtaken by my personal “storms” or “pits.” Throughout my day, I have to replenish my mind with positive thoughts and think of my many blessings, both big and small, to remain positive and focused. At the end of the day, I have to feed my mind one more time with positive thoughts and words to help me get through the night.

Without my faith, hope and spiritual thoughts, I would probably be living a negative life, cursing everything around me as I sink into the sewer lagoon of life, feeling hopeless and defeated. I often joke that I consider myself a “failure that refuses to quit.”

To me, life is like a massive roller coaster. Once you are strapped into the seat, you have to decide to either fight the ride, or enjoy it. Regardless of your decision, it’s going to be the same ride. Why not decide to enjoy the ride and laugh and smile rather than fight it and make yourself and those around you miserable?

Not every hardship in life comes because of something you’ve chosen, but every outcome in life depends on your attitude while you deal with your challenge. Others have come before us that have kept the faith and made it through their wilderness, achieving results greater than they could have ever imagined. Just like them, keep the faith, keep moving, look for the manna and know that there will be “milk and honey.”

Have peace, knowing as I do, “With God and through God, all things are possible.”

Food for thought from one of my daily devotionals:

FOR TODAY

O God:

Give me strength to live another day;

Let me not turn coward before its difficulties
or prove recreant to its duties;

Let me not lose faith in other people;

Keep me sweet and sound of heart, in spite of
ingratitude, treachery, or meanness;

Preserve me from minding little stings or
giving them;

Help me to keep my heart clean, and to live so
honestly and fearlessly that no outward
failure can dishearten me or take away the
joy of conscious integrity;

Open wide the eyes of my soul that I may see
good in all things;

Grant me this day some new vision of thy truth;

Inspire me with the spirit of joy and gladness;
and make me the cup of strength to suffering
souls; in the name of the strong Deliverer, our
only Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.